Once Upon a Thyme
Once Upon a Thyme is a modern fairy tale twist and a picture book by D. Isaac Thomas. It was released on March 28, 2018. Summary A vampire's critical mission to obtain the Oblian and expose the Order of Paper makes for an unusual kind of fairy tale. Synopsis The book begins by describing a lonely princess in a "shining castle", before announcing a plot twist making fun of the audience for expecting a D.I.T. fairytale to be ordinary. It gives exposition that the book will concern a much newer kind of fairy tale before jokingly recommending any disappointed readers to go to the library and read all about "castles, damsels in distress, and knights in shining armor". It tells of a land we call home where a vicious and power-hungry vampire named Nelson lives in a humble estate in what is heavily implied to be the United States of America. She was keenly attuned to magic, with an aptitude for methodic trickery. She commanded a legion of pencil warriors who did her bidding, called the Order of Paper. It is implied that she has already claimed power over certain regions. There is another plot twist that once again jokes on the word's definition as the narrator says that ideally there is a princess in the story, or at least a small girl playing dress-up. Thinking such a girl would be useful in her plans to expose the Order of Paper to dominate humankind, Nelson sent her pencils to kidnap her. They came in the night, led by the prodigious Sir Eeink. The de facto princess was sleeping when they forced open a window. Within moments, she was taken to the Graveyard of Nelson to be questioned. Hovering over the girl, Nelson spoke in her ear and sardonically welcomed her to her secret lair. The Princess awoke. She demands for the whereabouts of the Oblian, but the Princess demands to know where she is. Nelson applauds her strong will and repeats her question, but the Princess insists that she promised not to let slip the Oblian's whereabouts. Before Nelson can press further, a guard alerts her. He is tall and extremely slender, with an eraser for a hat and trailing lead wherever he goes. He reports that a girl has attempted to infiltrate the castle and is currently imprisoned. Warning the Princess that they are not finished, Nelson goes down to the graveyard and into an underground cell where she, without pretense, demands to know how the girl ended up in the dungeon. The girl, revealed to be Natalie, claims to have been brought to the Graveyard of Nelson by a mysterious mirror. She says that “someone with a confidential identity” came to her knowing she needed shelter and that she was capable of destroying the Oblian. Nelson is shocked and furious that Natalie even knows what the Oblian is, but she tells herself Natalie is a simple girl that can be easily dealt with. In her sweetest voice attainable, Nelson pretends to apologize that Natalie had to endure prison and beckons her inside for a meal. She claims her “humble abode” is always open to the weary traveler. Natalie feels unnerved by the legions of pencils she had laid eyes upon, but she thanks Nelson and follows her. Dinner is an unusually sumptuous affair, for guests do not usually wander near Nelson’s estate. As they eat boiled potatoes with steak and rhodoberries, Natalie and Nelson discuss their origins, though there is much that Nelson leaves out. “That device is a wonder,” said Nelson. “Yet it is evil, and destroying it is decidedly a prudent course of action.” “Agreed,” said Natalie. “By the way, who was the little girl I saw heading upstairs? Her condition looked a bit...poor.” “My residence here is the only one,” Nelson replied calmly. “You must have been seeing things.” When Natalie was comfortably tucked away in the guest bedroom, Nelson’s thirty minutes of standing by in wait seemed to be over. In an ever cautious and meticulous manner, she knelt by Natalie’s bed and, without a second thought, carefully seized the device they had spoken ill of during suppertime. The device was shaped unto a small model parachute that seemed to reflect something. Nelson looked closer and, to her horror, its stores of thyme and electronic workings were reflecting her, reflecting the vampire once upon a merrier time: wholesome, attractive, and in her teenage years waving at her friends. In spite of this, Nelson left a similar-looking toy parachute by Natalie’s bed, cleverly covering her tracks. Unfortunately, now she had to do a lot more waiting with nothing much in between the lapsing time. Upon hearing footsteps, Nelson made haste towards the cell where the little girl was being held. “You shouldn’t have come,” said the girl. “You have nothing to fear,” said Natalie and, to Nelson’s delight, pulled out the parachute. “I’ve had the Oblian this whole time.” “What are you talking about?” the girl asked. Natalie instructs her to grasp it and wish she was out of the Graveyard of Nelson. However, nothing happens. “It’s not working,” said the girl. “Wish harder!” urged Natalie. The girl did so, but in spite of her subsequent three attempts, nothing happened. At that moment, Nelson chose to reveal herself. “I’m afraid trying to play the hero role was rather rash,” she gloated. “The real Oblian is in my pocket. I already have it.” Nelson pulled out the Oblian at once, delighting in Natalie’s pale complexion. Throwing thyme at Natalie, she enforced the girl’s leave of the graveyard via teleportation. Turning to the girl, she said, “You have outlived your usefulness, my friend. But know that I, Nelson of the Order of Paper, am not completely without mercy. I will grant thee a quick exit from the premises, soon to join Natalie amidst common whereabouts.” The narrator is then revealed to be D. Isaac Thomas himself, who says he'll let the audience be the judge of whether the book had a happy or sad ending. Trivia *This is the second book not to have a post-script scene, the first being The Deliverers Save the World. Category:Books Category:D.I.T. books Category:G-rated books Category:2018 books Category:Once Upon a Thyme Category:Nelson Universe books